By turning the market typology inside-out, visitors are offered an authentic, behind-the-scenes experience of one of the city’s most visited waterfront destinations. The public market hall is twice the area of the previous site, accommodating 12,000sqm of fishmongers, restaurants, cafés and specialist vendors, creating the atmosphere of a lively, intimately scaled market. The scheme provides 6,000sqm of accessible public space, with plazas at each end of the building enabling informal gatherings, strengthening connections to the water and providing a missing piece in the puzzle of the 15km foreshore walk from Rozelle Bay to Woolloomooloo.

Inspired by the traditional market archetype, the hallmark of the design is a sweeping timber and aluminium roof structure spanning 20,000sqm, which floats over the building, bringing together the building’s various programs and reinforcing the building’s iconic presence along the harbour. The roof was developed as a holistically sustainable element that drove both the expression and performance of the market. The geometry and orientation of the roof’s modular cassettes are designed to admit natural light from the south while blocking the harsh, direct sun from the north, with integrated PV panels facing northwest to generate power for a demanding load.

The ‘floating’ canopy design allows for natural ventilation to the market hall below, eliminating the need for mechanical conditioning of the expansive space. Together, these passive strategies significantly reduce reliance on mechanical systems, lowering energy loads by up to 35%. The design achieves a 50% reduction in potable water usage through an integrated rainwater collection and an on-site filtration and re-use system, while integrated solar panels generate up to 5% of the building’ daily energy demands.